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The Aga Khan Gold Cup Football Tournament, Dacca' (1958-1981): A Retrospect
The 1950's was an era of resurrection in South East Asia. As new independent nations emerged, following centuries of colonial rule, sports became an important part of the rebuilding process. It was in this scenario that ‘The Aga Khan Gold Cup Football' started its journey at Dhaka (or Dacca), in 1958. Prince Karim Aga Khan, during his visit to Pakistan, expressed his interest to start a major international football tournament in the region. With his highness providing the funding required for the Gold Cup, the football authorities of Pakistan decided to go ahead with the idea. Dacca, the football capital of the country, was the obvious choice as the venue. Initially, the idea was to gradually develop this event into the main intenational club competition of Asia. While, that didn't happen, the' Aga Khan Gold Cup' did provide the football lovers of Dacca some memorable moments and plenty of joy for almost quarter of a century.
Role Of honors 1958: Karachi Kickers (West Pakistan)
1959: Dacca Mohammedan (East Pakistan)
1960: Calcutta Mohammedan (India)
1961: Indonesia (National Team)
1962: Victoria SC (East Pakistan)
1963: Western Railways (West Pakistan)
1964: Dacca Mohammedan (East Pakistan) and Karachi Port Trust (West Pakistan) (joined Champions)
1965: Not held
1966: PSSI Garuda (Indonesia Junior Team)
1967: PSMS (Indonesia)
1968: Dacca Mohammedan (East Pakistan)
1969: Not held
1970: Pash Club (Iran)
1971-74: Not held
1975: Abandoned due to political turmoil
1976: Penang Football Association (Malaysia)
1977: Safed-Rud Club (Iran)
1978: Not held
1979: NIAK Mitra (Indonesia)
1980: Not held
1981: Bangkok Banks Club (Thailand) and Brothers Union (Bangladesh). (Joined Champions)
The Pakistan days: (!958-1970)
Teams from both East and West Pakistan regularly participated in the event. Among the foreign countries, Indonesia almost always sent a team, and their team won the event 3 times during this period. Among our neighbors, the Calcutta Mohammedans played brilliant football to lift the 1960 trophy. SL sent teams regularly with modest success. The uneasy political relationship between Malaysia and Indonesia meant that the Malaysian football authorities frequently declined invitation to participate.
In 1958, The Karachi Kickers became the first champions defeating, their city rivals Mohammedan (not to be confused with Dacca Mohammedan) in the final. The Dacca Mohammedan won the double next year, winning the Aga Khan Gold Cup along with the Dacca league title. It was another Mohammedan, this time the black and whites from Calcutta who lifted the trophy the next year. The final between the Calcutta giants and the PSM team from Indonesia is still regarded as one of the best matches ever played at Dacca. The Indonesians went into the final as the favorites, but the Makran players of Calcutta Mohammedans triumphed in the final, winning by 3 goals to 1. There was no denying the Indonesian team next year. A thumping 5-0 win in the final over Pakistan Railways ensured the trophy for them. The Indonesian football at that time was on a high. In August, their national team had lifted the Merdeka cup in Malaysia, while their junior team was joint champions in Asian Youth football. The team at Dacca was a mixture of both these teams, but it was officially regarded as the Indonesia national football team. After two years of foreign domination, local pride was restored by Victoria SC in 1962. In another one sided final, they thrashed the South Korea Youth team 5-1 in the final. Like the Calcutta Mohammedan, the Victoria side was filled with Makran players. Many at the time considered Dacca Victoria side to be the strongest club side in Asia. To further emphasize the strength of Pak football at the time, the Western railways (West Pakistan) won the trophy the next year. And, Dacca Mohammedan and Karachi Port Trust shared the honor in 1964. As Pakistan got involved n a war with India in 1965, no tournament was held that year. When the event restarted a year later, the ‘Garuda' or the youth team from Indonesia emerged as the champs. They defeated Dacca Mohammedan in the final 2-1. PSMS (Indonesia) won the cup in 1967. But, the Indonesian domination was broken in 1968, as Dacca Mohammedan, the most successful club in Aga Khan Gold Cup history, won the cup in 1968. After a break in 1969, due to political unrest, the 1970 final saw the Pash Club of Iran defeat the Persebaya club of Indonesia 2-1 in the final. This would be the last Aga Khan Gold Cup in Pakistan, as Pakistan would be divided into two parts in 1971, with the eastern half emerging as the new independent nation of Bangladesh, with Dacca as its capital.
After the Independence: (1975-1981) The nine month long liberation war of Bangladesh saw the region being devastated. There was widespread genocide and most of the Bengali football players had to flee to Calcutta (West Bengal, India) to save their lives. There they formed a team called' Swadhin Bangla Football Dal'' (Independent Bangla Football team'' under the leadership of Dacca Mohammedan's captain Zakaria Pintu. Also included in the side was a budding striker called Kazi Salahuddin, destined later to become the greatest footballer to come from Bangladesh. He is currently the chief of Bangladesh Football Federation. Back in 1971,the ‘Swadhin Bangla' team played a number of exhibition games against different teams of West Bengal to increase the support for the independence of Bangladesh. After the war, the authorities gradually tried to rebuild the infrastructure of football. The Dacca League restarted in 1973, and in 1975, the authorities were ready to restart the Gold Cup football. The Rajvithi team from Thailand, and the Punjab Police team from India were among the foreign participants. Unfortunately, the political situation of Dacca became very volatile at the time forcing the organizers to abandon the event.
1976: 8 teams participated in this event. The five local teams, Mohammedan (the reigning League Champions), Abahani, Victoria, Rahmatganj and Shantinagar were joined by the Penang Football Association (Malaysia), Rajivithi Football Club (Thailand) and the SL national team. In one group, the Penang team and the SL team showed complete dominance and qualified for the semis. The other group saw keener contest. Mohammedan, with their star striker Hafiz in excellent form, won the group. But, League runners up Abahani, and the Thai club Rajvithi fought hard for the 2nd spot. The exciting group- match between the two finished 3-3. After they both ended on equal points, the organizers decided to hold a play-off match. Abahani won the match 2-0, with Salahuddin, the number one striker of the country netting on both occasions. Unfortunately for the sky-blue fans the Penang team proved just too strong for them in the SF. With the Bakar brothers (Isa and Ali) in excellent scoring touch, the visitors were easy winners 4-1. The goal by Sohrab was only a consolation for the local side. There was greater delight for the local soccer fans in the other semi. Mohammedan went a goal behind very early against the Lankans. But they showed great courage coming back to win 2-1. Their supporters came to the final day hoping for a 4th triumph for the traditional power of Dhaka football. They went home dejected. Shokr Salleh dominated the midfield, and both the Bakar brothers got in the score-sheet, as Penang won 3-0. It was a big disappointment especially for the Mohammedan coach Ashraf, who as a player won the double in 1959, and was hoping to do the same as a coach.
1977/78: The number of teams, both foreign and local, increased. The organizers gave opportunity to more local teams to provide international exposure to young players of the country. Unfortunately, for some of the lesser clubs of the country, the experience proved a harrowing one, as teams like WAPDA and Bangladesh Army suffered humiliating defeats against foreign oppositions. Both the finalists of the previous event were here, but this time they were eliiminated in the group stages. For the Mohammedan this ended a forgettable year for them. Unable to make any impact in the league, they recruited some youngsters from other clubs to boost their strength. But, it didn't work so well. In their very first match, they squandered an early lead to lose 2-1 against Indonesia. A 2-1 win over the AIFF (India) revived their hopes, but they were thrashed 4-0 by the eventual Champions Iran, one of the worst defeats ever suffered by the club in its long history. In the other group, Penang wasted a 3-0 lead against PIA, to draw 3-3. This reversal, combined with defeats against Bangkok Banks club, and Abahani ended their defense of the title. It was apparent to the soccer fans of Dacca, form the very beginning, that 3 teams, Sepid-Rud Club of Iran, AIFF (india) and the Bangkok Banks club of Thailand were the strongest outfits in the event, and all three duly made it to the Semis. They were joined by Abahani, the reigning champions of Dacca, who came back from a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of PIA to take the 2nd place in their group behind the Bangkok Banks.
For the 2nd year in a row, Abahani lost their SF match against the eventual champions. This time they suffered a 2-0 reversal at the hands of the Iranian team. The other SF, played amidst torrential rain, saw India edge past Bangkok Banks2-1 after a seesaw battle. The final on the 1st day of 1978, saw the Sepid-Rud club from Iran take on AIFF (India) for the 2nd time in the tournament. Their first meeting earlier in the tournament had seen the Iranians winning by a solitary goal. The Indians however, were expected to produce an improved performance in the final. Their captain Gurudev Singh had impressed, both as a defender and as a striker, while Prasun Banerjee, the playmaker showed his mastery in the SF, enthralling the Dhaka crowd with his skills in extremely difficult playing conditions. Unfortunately for the Indians, their defense cracked badly under pressure on the big day. Their keeper Bhasker Maiti was at fault for the first goal, while a poor back pass led to the third Iranian goal. The Sepid-Rud club was the easy winners by 3 goals to nil.
1979: In Oct. 1978, Dacca hosted the Asian Youth Football tournament. So, the authorities felt that holding the Aga Khan Gold Cup tournament that year would not be a good idea. So, the next event took place in 1979. This was the biggest event (in terms of teams or matches) after independence. But, at the end the teams as well as the spectators got a bit bored. The two group stages were unnecessary. And to make matter worse for the organizers, there was huge discrepancy among the strengths of the different sides. The Chinese team (Liaoning) started their campaign with a 9-0 drubbing of Nepal. The Burmese side thrashed the Dhaka Wanderers 8-0. Abahani was the most successful local side, but for the 3rd time in a row, they lost in the semis to eventual champions (this time NIAK Mitra from Indonesia). Like the Chinese, the team from Indonesia showed their strength early in the event, as they beat a strong South Korea side 4-1 in the first group stages. The striker Dullah Rahim and midfielder Shamsul Arefin were among the best players of the tournament. In the SF,they easily beat the sky blues 2-0.The Liaoning side defeated Burma 2-1 in the other SF. The final was a drab affair. After a 1-1 draw, the NIAK Mitra side prevailed in the penalty shoot-out.
1981: The 10 team event proved much more successful. Good crowd gathered to watch the matches, despite the fact that this tournament coincided with the World Cup Hockey going on at Mumbai. Unfortunately, some internal disputes among the football authorities of the country meant that this would be the last edition of the cup. For the 1st time since independence, two local teams made it to the semis. 3 times winner Mohammedan was joined by the Gopibagh team Brothers Union. Abahani, the league champions, missed out on a SF place, despite defeating Indonesia 5-0. Brothers caused an upset in the first SF, defeating the Oman national team. The team from middle-east was possibly the strongest team in the tournament. But, after taking an early lead they lost their heads. Admittedly, a number of decisions went against them, but they should have shown more professional attitude. There was no upset in the other semi final, as the Bangkok Bank side won 3-1. The Bangkok side was the clear favorite for the finals, but having got so close the Brothers Union side was determined to show their best in the final. At the end they fully deserved the 1-1 draw they achieved. This time there was no provision of penalty shoot-outs and the two teams were declared join champions.
The End: In March 1981, Dacca hosted the President's Gold Cup. The organizers of the new event declared their intention to make it a competition among the national teams of the region. However, very soon it was clear that the invited countries were sending their youth teams or club teams for the event. Two international club competitions at the same city looked unnecessary, and the authorities decided to continue the President's Gold Cup ending the days of Aga Khan Gold Cup football. Interestingly the President's Gold Cup itself became a start and stop affair before its end in 1993.
A Possible Revival: Over the last two decades there has been a big change in the sporting culture of Bangladesh. Cricket has replaced Football as the number one passion of young generation. In fact, many consider football to be a minority sports in the country now. In this dire situation, Kazi Salahuddin took over the BFF presidency in 2008. He immediately took some steps to restore the image of football within the country. During the summer of 2009, there was some talk in the local media about the restarting of the famous Aga Khan Gold Cup football. There was interest among all the parties involved, and there was keen interest shown by the TV Channels as well. Unfortunately, after the initial euphoria, the idea has subsided for some reason or other.
So, as things stand right now, we have to consider ‘The Aga Khan Gold Cup Football' to be a part of history. The chance of a possible revival now seems almost gone. Never the less, for almost quarter of a century this event was an important part of the sporting calendar of Dacca. And everybody involved with the event can look back proudly at the passion and the excitement that the event created during its heydays.
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